Independently You Cannot Be Happy
The following conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupdda
and some of his disciples took place in October 1975 during an early-morning walk
in Nairobi, Kenya.

Srila Prabbupada: [Taking the role of an atheist. I By
pleasing the spiritual master, you please Krsna. That’s nice. But why should Krsna
be pleased? Why should one bother himself to please Krsna? Answer this.

Devotee:Because our real position is to serve Krsna.
We’ve fallen into the illusion of this material energy because we forgot our position
as His servants.

Srila Prabhupada: We are making scientific progress.
What is the use of bringing God in?

Devotee: Because we shall never become perfect if we don’t
serve God.

Srila Prabhupada: That is begging the question.

Devotee:Everybody has to serve some­body. Since Krsna is
the reservoir of all pleasure and everything emanates from Him, instead of serving
some ordinary person we should serve Krsna.

Srila Prabbupada: But I also will not last. So I am
enjoying wine while I can.

Devotee: But such a mentality is third class.
Actually, our life is eternal.

Srila Prabhupada: That is your statement —“third class” —but
my statement is “It is first class.”

Devotee: Krsna says in the Bhagavad­gita [10.101,
“To those who are constantly devoted to Me and worship Me with love, I give the
understanding by which they can come to Me.” So, this is our desire.

Srila Prabhupada: I don’t want to go.

Devotee: You don’t want to go to Krsna?

Srila Prabbupada: No.

Devotee: All right, suffer.

Srila Prabhupada: You are putting upon me some
impression—”suffer”—-but I am enjoying.

Devotee: Your knee is hurting. Is that enjoying?

Srila Prabhupada: That I am curing. That is also nice.
[Laughter.]

Devotee: It is said in the Bhagavatam that we are just
like the limbs of the body and that Krsna is like the stomach. All the limbs may be
jealous of the stomach and not want to feed the stomach, but if the hands and
legs and mouth were to go on strike and not feed the stomach, they would ultimately
be destroyed.

Srila Prabhupada: This is the right answer.
Every limb of the body must cooperate with the stomach. If the finger thinks,
‘‘I shall remain independent and be happy, that is not possible. The stomach must be
supplied food, and then all the other parts of the body will be happy.
Similarly, Krsna is the central enjoyer (bhoktaram yanjna-tapasam He is the center of
everyone’s activities, just as this African state is the center of people’s
activities here. If you do not satisfy the state—or the president—then you cannot
remain happy. Independently you cannot be happy. For example, we have come to
this park because the state is maintaining it. We have not gone to the jungle.
So if we actually want happiness, we must cooperate with the state.
Similarly, if our ultimate aim is to become happy, then we must cooperate with Krsna.
This is obligatory. You cannot escape it. If you try, you’ll be unhappy.

Devotee: We are part and parcel of Lord Krsna.

Srila Prahhupada: Yes. Even a child—he will naturally bring
everything to his mouth. He picks up something, but he does not put it anywhere.
Immediately he puts it in the mouth. Why doesn’t he put it in the ear? He doesn’t know
what is what, but as soon as he gets something, he puts it in his
mouth because his position is eating. He knows—”Taste with the tongue and eat.”
He hasn’t got to be educated.
So, our position is like that. Being part and parcel of Krsna, we have a natural
tendency to serve Him. Serving Krsna is not artificial. When you forget Krsna,
that is artificial. Our normal life is to love Krsna, to serve Krsna. That is
our normal life. Without our serving Krsna life is abnormal, a madman’s life.
therefore Krsna comes to this world to preach normal life:
sarva-dharman pari tyajya mam ekam saranam vraja. “Give up all other so-called
duties and simply surrender unto Me.” This is normal life. Krsna doesn’t require
our help. He can create many helpers. But for our good Krsna comes and
says, “if you want a normal, happy life, then surrender unto Me.” This is
His proposal.

Devotee: But Krsna is not here now to give us this
normal life. What are we to do?

Srila Prabbupada: Therefore Bhagavad­gita and all other
Vedic literatures are there to
remind us of our forgotten position—to love and serve Krsna.
krsna bhuli’ sei jiva andi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsara-duhkha
We cannot ascertain when we have come to this world, but from time immemorial we have
forgotten Krsna, and life after life we are changing bodies and suffering. So here,
in the human form of life, there is the opportunity to revive our original position.
But we require the help of knowledge, perfect knowledge. That is available in the
Vedic literature.So, we may read the Bhagavad-gita but if we don’t take advantage of
its knowledge, and if we go on acting whimsically, then we will suffer.
You cannot avoid cooperating
with Krsna. You must cooperate. There is no question of an alternative.
You must cooperate; otherwise you’ll never be happy.
Our aim of life should be to end misery (atyantika-duhkha-nivrttih.
For example,I’m suffering from this knee trouble ,because I am in this material world,
because
I have this material body.

So, atyantika­duhkha-nivrttih means no more material world,
no more material body. And no more misery. And for that purpose we have to cooperate
with Krsna; otherwise it is not possible to end our misery.